With the increasing sophistication of office equipment, such as digital copiers, printers, facsimiles, as well as devices which combine many of these functions, individual devices become more and more software intensive. Much of the functionality associated with a particular device dwells in the software of the device, and functionalities of a device can be monitored, improved or increased via the machine software. Preferably, such software access could be performed, for example, by a tech rep attending the device and plugging in a personal computer or laptop into the device for direct access to or downloading of software; or, the software could be accessed or installed in a device remotely, over a network.
It is known in the art for a printer or copier to make available what is often known as "auditron" data. In its most basic sense, such data would include a running count of how many prints or copies have been output by a particular machine since a previous check. Auditron data could conceivably further include more sophisticated metrics such as average number of prints output per day, or a number relating to an amount of makring material in the machine, or a list of codes relating to specific physical conditions within the machine, such as high temperatures.
In a real-world context, electronically-rendered auditron data is often displayed to user or tech rep in the form of a "data dump," which can be in the form of a set of numbers downloaded, for example, to the tech rep's laptop computer, or even printed out by the machine itself. One problem that has been found with these basic methods of outputting auditron data is that the data is not in a ready form for further processing. Typically the tech rep will read the data dump, have to know which number in the data dump means what, and write down or type in the numbers manually. It would be more convenient and efficient if a copier or printer could download its auditron data in a form which can be ported directly to a commerically-available software program, such as a spreadsheet program. In this way auditron data having many different parameters, and from many different machines, can be automatically compiled into a system-wide report.